Fertility rates remain high in Kenya, with an average total fertility rate (TFR) of 4.6 children
during a woman’s lifetime.1
According to the Kenyan National Bureau of Statistics, if women
were to achieve their ideal family size, the TFR for Kenya would drop to 3.4 children per
woman,1
with the gap between the desired and actual family size being greatest among
the poor. Most notably, if fertility rates remain at the same level, it is projected that the
proportion of women within reproductive ages will grow from 48 percent in 2009 to about
51 and 55 percent in 2040, assuming low-fertility and high fertility scenarios (see Figure
1.1).2
This growth has implications not only for the number of pregnancies that would result
because of this increase but also for the concomitant increase in demand for reproductive
health services.